Intellectually disabled gain rights in criminal cases

Criminal Procedure

By Timothy P. O’Neill

Timothy P. O’Neill was the Edward T. and Noble W. Lee Chair in Constitutional Law for 2014-15 at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Readers are invited to visit his Web log and archives at jmls.edu/oneill.

Posted September 5, 2018 9:23 AM

In 1858 the prominent abolitionist Theodore Parker spoke before the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Convention. He said, “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight, I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”It is easy to get discouraged some days and doubt this is true. But when I look back at my 40 years of studying criminal law, …

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